Comic-Con 2006: Grind House Panel

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Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez team up to deliver one of the most impressive films of the con.

By Chris Carle

When Robert Rodriguez debuted footage of Sin City a couple years ago at Comic-Con, it was tough to think of a moment that could top it. A couple years hence, add Quentin Tarantino to the mix, sprinkle in a kick-ass bundle of footage, and you have one of the more righteous preview panels in recent Comic-Con memory.

QT and RR have collaborated on other projects before, most visibly on From Dusk 'Til Dawn, and, of course, Sin City, where Tarantinto directed a segment of the film. But the collaboration on Grind House, a "true" double feature, seems to go beyond any previous attempts, into the territory of line-blurring, no-holds-barred genre cinema at its finest. The film seeks to capture the style and allure of movies offered in 1970s "grind house" theaters, which often featured exploitation and foreign horror films.

Today at the panel, the two were joined by actresses from the upcoming double-feature, many of whom have roles in both films: Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowan, Zoe Bell, Marley Shelton, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Sydney Poitier.

Tarantino and Rodriguez showcased a bunch of footage from Rodriguez's half of the double feature, titled, "Planet Terror." The films are meant to be packaged as one movie, complete with fake trailers in between. Upon hearing this, Tarantino said that Bob Weinstein reacted, "People are gonna feel ripped off when they see other movies now."

They just might. The footage shown was righteous. It's obvious from the footage shown that Rodriguez is seriously channeling '70s grind house pictures, and from comments made during the panel, Tarantino's segment (which has not begun principal photography), is primed to follow suit.

The idea to pair up came from an old exploitation movie poster. "I had this old picture of Drag Strip Girl and Rock All Night as inspiration, said Rodriguez. After abandoning the short script for a zombie movie he had been working on, Rodriguez was at Tarantino's house and noticed the same poster. The two almost immediately decided to make a double feature called Grind House.

When describing the tone behind the double feature, Tarantino lamented that in the Seventies, the grind house pictures would always have posters that were much better or more exciting than the movies they advertised. With this collaboration, Tarantino promised, "We're gonna make two sleazy grind house movies that deliver on the poster and more." Expounding on the format, he stated, "This isn't some Twilight Zone type of bullsh*t&#Array; This isn't a faux double feature anymore. This is two movies for the price of one."

The footage shown at Comic-Con was all from Robert Rodriguez's half of the equation. Called "Terror Planet," the film stars everyone from Rose McGowan and Marley Shelton to Freddy Rodriguez and horror fave Tom Savini. Other cast members include Jeff Fahey and Rodriguez fave Danny Trejo.

The footage shown at the Con portrays an over-the-top, splatterific zombie gorefest shot in the signature Rodriguez style. All of the footage sported a faux-wrecked look, with scratches and other noise running constantly over the "print."

What can audiences expect from the movie? Lots of tongue-in-cheek humor, tons of gore, great dialogue and some amazing things no one has ever seen in a movie&#Array;including an amputee (Rose McGowan) who is fitted with a machine gun as a prosthetic leg. During the panel, McGowan stated, "If there's an amputee fetishist out there, this is the movie for them." The whole thing is drenched in Seventies genre tropes, bloody violence and oozing sexuality.

But it isn't all about the machine gun leg. "There's so many different characters," Rodriguez said, "and all of them have some cool quirk."

Tarantino commented that Rodriguez's film "Feels and plays like a zombie movie John Carpenter made between Escape From New York and The Thing." The Carpenter connection doesn't end there; the team is trying to recruit John Carpenter to compose some of the music for the film.

QT's half of the project is titled "Death Proof," and is a slasher film. Kurt Russell was signed as of yesterday for the role of Stuntman Mike, a brutal killer who Tarantino boasts is, "One of the best characters I've ever written." Explaining why he chose Russell, Tarantino commented on the star's choice to make essentially overblown action movies when he was already an established star. "One of the things that was so great about the John Carpenter movies&#Array; is the fact that there are a lot of actors who wouldn't do that&#Array; There's a playfulness to going that way."

Tarantino describes his film as "a slasher film at 200 miles per hour," and it features some crossover cast in Marley Shelton and Rose McGowan. In addition to Russell, "Death Proof" also includes stuntwoman Zoe Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rosario Dawson and more unannounced cast members.

The two films share one character&#Array;Texas Ranger Earl McGraw, who has appeared in other Tarantino and Rodriguez movies. The character is the one through-point in both films.

The double feature will also include trailers for fake movies, and Tarantino stated, "We wanted the trailers to be so good that if we do Grind House 2, you'll demand that we do these movies."

From all indications, this double feature looks to be loaded with all the bloody, insane goodness that has made both directors international superstars. Stay tuned to IGN FilmForce for more coverage of the films as they get closer to the April, 2007 release date.